Effect of outdoor grazing-area size and genotype on space and pasture use, behaviour, health and growth traits of weaned rabbits

Providing rabbits with outdoor access lets them express a large repertoire of behaviours and addresses societal expectations surrounding animal welfare in livestock systems. The aim of this work was to study rabbit growth, health and behaviour according to genetic type and pasture-area size. We distributed 192 weaned rabbits into two groups differing in rangeable pasture size, i.e. large pasture (LP): 60 m² (n =4 × 24), and small pasture (SP): 30 m² (n = 4 × 24). Each group contained half Californian 1001 × New-Zealand 1777 rabbits (1001) and half PS119 × New-Zealand 1777 rabbits (PS119). Rabbit growth and morbidity were measured individually weekly for 36 days (from 31 to 67 days of age). Rabbit behaviour was assessed three times a day on days 44, 58 and 70 by direct visual scan and use of space was evaluated six times a week, through rabbit spatial distribution. Finally, amount of corticosterone was measured in hair samples from 18 rabbits of each genotype in LP and SP at day 72. Notable findings: PS119 rabbits were heavier than 1001 rabbits at day 67 (2444 vs 2113 g, respectively; P < 0.05) but we observed no effect of genotype on mortality nor morbidity. Animals expressed a large variety of specific behaviours on pastures, with grazing and resting being predominant. We found a lower level of corticosterone in PS119 rabbits than in 1001 rabbits (2.19 vs 6.34 pg per mg of hair, respectively; P < 0.05). Conclusion: This study found that a 60-m² pasture for 24 rabbits enables the animals to express grazing for the entire fattening period. Rabbit genotype was found to influenced some of their behaviour. The present data set could be use to compare a future trial done in a different season in order to validate or discredit the fact that a 60 m² pasture for 24 rabbits enables them to express grazing continuously over the whole growing period without any impact on their growth and their health. Genotype chosen here in this trial could be also used as a comparison with a different genotype on the previous quoted parameters. The precise description of the data can be found in "Read_me_Metadata_Mendeley.txt" file. The data can be easily used with R software (https://www.r-project.org/).为家兔提供户外活动空间，可使其展现丰富多样的行为模式，同时契合畜牧系统中公众对动物福利的期待。本研究旨在探究不同遗传品系与牧场面积条件下家兔的生长、健康及行为表现。 我们将192只断奶家兔分为两组，两组的可活动牧场面积存在差异：大牧场（LP）组为60平方米（n=4×24），小牧场（SP）组为30平方米（n=4×24）。每组均包含一半的Californian 1001 × New-Zealand 1777（加州1001×新西兰1777）品系家兔与一半的PS119 × New-Zealand 1777（PS119×新西兰1777）品系家兔。我们于31至67日龄期间，每周对家兔的生长情况与发病情况进行个体监测，持续36天。家兔的行为在第44、58、70天每日通过直接目视扫描法进行评估；而其空间利用情况则通过家兔的空间分布，每周进行6次评估。最后，在第72天时，我们分别采集大、小牧场组中各品系18只家兔的毛发样本，检测其中皮质酮（corticosterone）的含量。 主要研究结果：在第67天时，PS119品系家兔的体重显著高于1001品系家兔（分别为2444 g与2113 g，P<0.05）；但未观察到遗传品系对家兔的死亡率与发病率存在影响。家兔在牧场中展现出丰富的特异性行为，其中以采食与休憩为主。我们检测到PS119品系家兔毛发中的皮质酮含量显著低于1001品系家兔（分别为2.19 pg/mg毛发与6.34 pg/mg毛发，P<0.05）。 研究结论：本研究表明，24只家兔配备60平方米的牧场，可使其在整个育肥期内均能展现采食行为；同时发现家兔的遗传品系会对其部分行为产生影响。本数据集可用于对比不同季节开展的后续试验，以验证或推翻"24只家兔配备60平方米牧场，可使其在整个生长周期内持续展现采食行为，且不会对其生长与健康产生负面影响"这一结论。本试验中选用的遗传品系，也可作为参照，与其他品系在上述提及的各项指标上进行对比分析。 本数据集的详细说明可参见"Read_me_Metadata_Mendeley.txt"文件。该数据集可直接使用R软件（https://www.r-project.org/）进行分析处理。